Defendant 5 is award winning Australian writer/director Heidi Lee Douglas' first television commission. Heidi’s previous short films have been nominated and awarded in film festivals around the world, including screenings at Fantastic Fest (USA), New York City Independent Film Festival (USA), Dungog Festival (Aus), Melbourne Underground Film Festival (Aus), Stranger With My Face Film Festival (Aus), Aotearoa Reel Earth Environmental Film Festival (NZ), International Wildlife Film Festival (USA), Forest Film Festival (USA), Earth Vision International Environmental Film Festival (USA), Exploding Cinema (Aus), and Wild Spaces Environmental Film Festival (Aus). Heidi has provided video production training and made content with remote Aboriginal communities across Australia from the Pilbara to Arnhem Land, Cape York, arid South Australia and Flinders Island, and with communities in Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. Her early career experience includes her role as in-house filmmaker at The Wilderness Society making documentaries about environmental issues of national significance. Heidi was cinematographer on the drama film Muffled that screened at the Palms Springs Short Film Festival, Chicago Reeling Festival, and Newfest - New York's premier LGBT Film Festival. Heidi wrote and directed the short gothic thriller film Little Lamb about a convict woman in 1829 Van Diemen's Land. Supported by Screen Australia and Wide Angle Tasmania through the Raw Nerve Initiative, Little Lamb had its International Premiere at Fantastic Fest 2014 in Austin Texas, the biggest international genre film festival in the United States. www.darklakeproductions.com.au

Producer - RUTH CROSS

Ruth is a Producer and Head of Development for Smith&Nasht managing the company slate since its inception in 2011. Immediately prior to Defendant 5, she produced The Vasectomist for SBS, CBC, VPRO and DR, and its groundbreaking outreach campaign, World Vasectomy Day collaborating with two-time Oscar nominee and Emmy Award-winning director Jonathan Stack. Alongside production, Ruth has a background in film programming for the Adelaide Film Festival and the First Factual Films Festival (F4) for the Australian International Documentary Conference, where she also managed the industry marketplace programs and was seconded to the Sheffield Doc/Fest team to produce the UK MeetMarket. Ruth holds an MA in Documentary Production from the University of Salford UK and was selected to participate in an exchange program with the prestigious Cuban film school, EICTV. She subsequently founded and ran a UK-based independent production company for several years during which time she was one of the first recipients of the Channel 4 BRITDOC fund. She is a Board member and programmer for Antenna Documentary Festival in Sydney.www.smithandnasht.com

Executive Producer - SIMON NASHT

A former political reporter and foreign correspondent, over the past 20 years Simon has established himself as one of Australia’s most experienced documentary filmmakers, winning major international awards and producing for the world’s leading networks. He has run successful production companies in London and New York, and in 2011 formed a partnership with entrepreneur Dick Smith to produce thought-provoking films for Australia and the international market. The company is now branching into digital content and educational platforms. Simon is a visiting fellow at the Institute of Sustainable Futures, UTS and a former teacher at the European Film College in Denmark. www.smithandnasht.com

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